Great working together

"Please, just let me put it back. We have a lot of work to do," Simone tried to keep her voice even. She'd pushed him too hard, and now he was retaliating. 

Shayn stared at her for a moment before returning the book. She quickly put it back on the shelf and led the way to her workspace. 

Taking the key, she unlocked the cabinet and began piling the things onto the table.

"I know we didn't get to discuss it last night," She began.

"Before you ditched me," He added. 

"Yes, before that. I think the best way to start is with the underlying topography, before we get to consolidating the anomalous findings." She turned on her best professional tone to try and diffuse his irritation. 

"Fine." He shrugged. 

"Would it be easier for you to work in the order in which you surveyed the land, or begin with what is freshest in your mind and work backwards?" Maybe offering him some input would make things go a little easier. 

"Everything is fresh in my mind," He responded evenly. Perhaps not. 

"How long were you there?" She tried a different tactic. 

"Three years, a bit more maybe." 

"And all of that information is equally… nevermind. Let's work from your starting point if it's all the same to you." 

"It is." He assured her. Which was impossible. No one kept three years' worth of information at the front of their mind. She supposed it could be all the same to him if he were sloppy and careless and didn't remember anything, but the precision and care put into the notes and drawings would indicate otherwise. 

Perhaps those were Kyler's. 

She shifted to the map and accompanying notes that were dated earliest, pulling the corresponding atlas from the archives. With fresh paper she began studying how things fit together. 

Simone had also pulled out the maps from the surveyors who had done the bordering areas, which was the most painstaking part of the process. 

Any surveyor paying a modicum of attention could keep his notes and maps internally consistent, but matching two different surveyors' work who had never spoken was a little trickier.

"Actually, it looks like you started up in the furthest corner of your assigned area and worked inward. First we should make sure we can align your readings and maps with the whole." Her brow furrowed as she carefully laid out the materials so that they didn't get shuffled together and confused. 

Shayn made a face, which she ignored.

"Are you implying that my calculations and measurements were off in some way?" His words were soft, but his tone implied he was ready to pick a fight if she was. 

"I'm merely double checking that everything is in line before we start on this and have to adjust everything later," She eyed him calmly. Why was he so needlessly prideful?

"And if it doesn't? Will you accuse me or the other surveyor of being wrong?" His eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath. 

"Neither. If there is some discrepancy, we can assess what to do. If it is very small, we will just make a note that we are averaging the differences for the sake of unity and that some later cartographer should go out and double check the borderline where the maps merge." She explained. 

"And if it is large?" His eyebrows rose, and she stood up to her full height. 

"Then I suppose we will go or send someone out immediately to assess the situation." She leveled her gaze at him, daring him to protest, but he nodded. 

"As long as you aren't just going to assume Kyler and I are in the wrong," Shayn replied. 

"Why would I? My interest is in accuracy, not blame. You're either right or you aren't. My job is much easier if everyone is correct." She noted how much his shoulders relaxed, and wondered what had made him defensive. 

"I'm correct." He said confidently. "I know the other surveyors are older and more experienced, but Kyler and I did a good job." 

"I'll be one of the judges of that, and it will go far more quickly if you stop interrupting my work." She shook her head. 

"By all means," He gestured towards the table with a sarcastic flourish. It was going to be another long day. 

_________________

Finn took a deep breath. She was nervous. Roland reached under the table to take her hand and squeeze it. She shot him a grateful smile and looked across at their three children. 

The tutors had finished the day's lessons and departed. The guards typically gave the family space by waiting outside.

Many times it had been suggested that they move to a larger home with more space, but the couple loved their house and were reluctant to leave it. It helped give their children as normal an upbringing as possible before they were more exposed to the world. 

"We would love to talk to you, kids, about something we've discussed for a long time," Roland began. 

Roen sat up straighter, his dark brown eyes shifting between his parents. He was visibly calmer than his sister. Lily had a cup of water between her hands. She sat perfectly still, but the liquid within her grasp began to swirl in a little whirlpool. 

Ivan's red hair glinted in the sunlight coming through the window. He smiled at his mother with encouragement, and she warmed slightly. 

"We've told you since you were little that your special abilities need to stay secret from the world. We haven't known how people would react." Finn said softly. 

"I don't really understand why we need to care what others think," Ivan hitched a shoulder. 

"On the one hand, we don't. People can think what they want, and we can't control that," Finn conceded. 

"But Father's King, and we can't make him look bad." Lily stared down into her swirling cup. "Or it will demoralize the kingdom and bring ruin on humanity." 

Finn let out a sudden laugh. That certainly hadn't been what she expected! 

"Darling, what books are your tutors having you read right now?" She asked. 

"'On Leadership and Humility,' and 'A Brief History of Klain's Best and Worst Leaders.'" The girl answered. 

"Hm. We'll talk more about that later," Finn shook her head. "No, that's not at all the reason. We're not afraid of you making your father look bad, but rather…" She struggled to find the words and looked to him for support. 

"Since your powers are unusual, people might react with fear, which can easily be twisted to evil purposes." Roland explained. "Fear has caused much ill in the world, since long before you were born." 

"People will be afraid of us?" Ivan seemed lightly amused by the idea, but his siblings less so. 

"Perhaps." Finn said honestly. "Your father… that is," She amended, "we both think that making an announcement of your power will help dispel some of that by providing people with enough information to know that you don't mean any harm, and will do good for the people." 

"Obviously we wouldn't hurt anyone," Lily sat up straighter, offended. "Why would anybody think so?" 

"As wonderful and special as you are, the three of you are still children," Finn reached across the table to take her daughter's hand. "Children who might get into mischief like wanting to play with a punch bowl or harvest my root vegetables in my garden by making the earth spit them out instead of pulling them," She turned her eyes to Roen. 

"That was helpful!" He protested. "I saved everyone so much time that would have been spent digging out potatoes!" 

"Yes, but the dirt shower we all received could easily have been noticed by neighbors," Finn reminded him. 

"Which won't be an issue once everyone knows about us," Ivan looked at his siblings and turned golden-hazel eyes on his parents.

"But it does bring up another potential issue," Roland cut in. "A leader is primarily a servant of the people. You will be expected to put your talents to use on behalf of others. The extent to which that happens may be decided at a future time, depending on…" 

He paused, glancing at his wife. 

"We know we haven't let you practice a lot. Having this in the open will allow you more opportunity to explore what you can do without worrying about discovery, but it also might lead to problems if you get into situations you can't control." Finn supplied. The couple had thought hard about all of this, but the discussion itself was a different matter. 

"We can do anything," Ivan said brightly.

"Not anything, and we don't want you to try to do everything all at once." Roland looked at his son seriously. "Small steps. We don't know if your powers get exhausted, or if there are repercussions for using them too much… it will be a learning experience for all of us. Do you three think you are ready for something like that?"